The present invention relates to telecommunication systems using network interface cards, and more particularly to a system for housing CompactPCI adapters in a non-mechanically CompactPCI-compliant frame.
The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus specification was originally designed for personal computers and is not well suited for industrial applications in which high reliability, redundancy or hot plugging features are very often considered as key requirements. The CompactPCI standard, incorporated herewith by reference (PCI Industrial Computersxe2x80x94PICMG 2.0 R2.0, CompactPCI Specification Short Form, Feb. 17th 1997), is an adaptation of the PCI specifications for industrial and/or embedded applications requiring a more robust mechanical form factor than desktop PCI. CompactPCI uses industry standard mechanical components and high performance connector technologies to provide a system optimized for rugged applications. CompactPCI is electrically compatible with the PCI specifications and allows a low-cost PCI chipset aimed to a mechanical form factor suited for rugged environments. The form factor defined for CompactPCI adapters is based upon the Eurocard industry standard. Both 3U (100.00 mm by 160.00 mm) and 6U (233.35 mm by 160.00 mm) board sizes are defined. A CompactPCI system comprises a mechanical frame having eight CompactPCI card locations including one System Slot, responsible for bus arbitration, clock distribution and reset functions for all other CompactPCI adapters on the bus, and up to seven Peripheral Slots that may contain adapters, PCI slaves or PCI bus masters.
The CompactPCI adapter cards are intended to be plugged into a CompactPCI frame. Therefore, the cards cannot be mounted in other frames that are not mechanically compliant with the CompactPCI packaging specifications. As indicated above, the depth of the CompactPCI adapter cards is 160.00 mm. This depth is not compatible with the depth, generally above 300 mm, used in most of today""s networking and telecommunication devices. In order to use CompactPCI adapters in these devices, it is thus necessary to provide a mechanism that can adapt to the difference in depth.
The present invention is directed to a system for using CompactPCI adapters in a non-CompactPCI frame, wherein the depth of the frame is larger than the depth of the CompactPCI adapter, and more particularly to a dual side CompactPCI backplane with provisions for accommodating six CompactPCI connectors on a front side of the backplane and one CompactPCI connector on a back side of the backplane. The backplane is designed such that the six CompactPCI connectors on the front side may receive any standard CompactPCI adapter, while the CompactPCI connector on the back side is intended to receive a specific form factor System Card. The System Card is connected on one side to the back side of the CompactPCI backplane, and on the other side to the main backplane of the frame, such that the CompactPCI adapter""s depth plus the System card depth spans the full depth of the frame.
A purpose of the present invention is to enable existing CompactPCI adapters cards to be mounted inside a non-standard CompactPCI frame without any design or packaging change. The adaptation is accomplished by the System Card itself according to the packaging dimension of the frame.